Counting Arctic Animals

by Coco Apunnguaq Lynge

This delightful book helps young children develop their counting skills through short rhymes and Arctic animal illustration.

One bowhead whale! Two polar bears! Three orcas! Join Kuluk and Asa as they count all the animals they see! This introduction to counting and to Arctic animals helps young children develop their counting skills through short rhymes. It also introduces interesting collective nouns, like a blessing of narwhals and a bob of seals.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Animals

24 pages, Board book

Published September 20, 2022

Reviews

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/counti...

COUNTING ARCTIC ANIMALS is a counting board book that follows 2 children as they identify the animals of the arctic. The children first spot a whale, before seeing 2 polar bears, and then lots of other animals all the way to 10. The left side of the page features the number and text along with the children, while the right side features the animals for little ones to count.

What I loved: This is an overall cute counting book with lovely art. The book counts from 1 to 10 with different animals for each number. The animals are shown in the amount described, so children can count them out along the way. The text tells the story of 2 children with their reactions to the different animals and the ways they make them feel, which adds to the counting with a bit of plot.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the bears and wolves make the children need to hide, which may be tough for little ones to understand.

Final verdict: COUNTING ARCTIC ANIMALS is a counting board book that will work for little ones who love animals.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

The obvious market for this book is going to be Inuit and other First Nations communities, but there is nothing to say it should fail outside the region from which it derives. All the numbers from one to ten get a double-page spread, each of their own background colour, and on each is a couple of local children witnessing and counting the Arctic animals. Sometimes the rhyming text is a bit clumsy, but it serves its place, and the artwork is a touch cartoonish but still perfectly fine. While it throws a few native words in here and there it brings us a surprisingly welcome concentration on the collective nouns for all the beasties, meaning a lot of us I am sure will learn something. Three and a half stars from me, but that doesn't factor in the importance of all such communities deserving a counting book specifically talking to them, such as this.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This board book's rhyming text and colorful depictions of animals typically found in the Arctic offer support to youngsters learning to count. From one to ten, readers follow two children--Kulik and Asa--as they venture outdoors and count animals as diverse as muskoxen, caribou, and wolves, among others. The verses and children are on the left-hand page while the animals being counted are on the right-hand page. Young readers can learn more from the back matter that includes a glossary with pronunciation and the definition of the Inuktitut term used in the book as well as explanations for the collective nouns found in its pages. Teachers, parents, and caregivers might want to use this one in addition to or in place of some of the more commonplace counting books that are available.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaged my 2yo and taught me something new.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good counting book in general. I liked the animals.

[Rachel Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, but I just found it really odd. The rhymes were strange and there was a random harpoon and ulu thrown in.

[R. L. Peterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just a miss. Didn't really flow.

[Kylee Timmreck · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.75/10⭐️